


there’s no telling, we just have to wait and see

by SuburbanSun



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Meet-Cute, Musicians, Open Mic Night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:55:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24879574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuburbanSun/pseuds/SuburbanSun
Summary: Alex has been performing at the open mic night at the dive bar across town for a few weeks. One night, a handsome stranger has a request.Alex Manes Week 2020 Day 2: au + canon divergence
Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 22
Kudos: 105





	there’s no telling, we just have to wait and see

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Alex Manes Week 2020 Day 2: au + canon divergence.
> 
> Title from 'First Day of My Life' by Bright Eyes.

Alex would never get tired of the adrenaline that flooded him after playing a song for a half-empty bar of people and a smattering of applause. It didn’t matter that most of the patrons weren’t paying any attention to his melody or his lyrics. It had taken him years to work up the courage to do this every week, and he wasn’t going to let a lukewarm response from an audience full of strangers make him feel any less proud.

He bellied up to the bar and traded his open mic ticket for his one free beer while the next act began to play. As he took a sip, he felt someone sidle up next to him.

“Now that was impressive,” the curly-haired stranger said, his eyebrows raised, head cocked to the side so he could meet Alex’s gaze. 

“Thanks,” Alex said, giving the guy a casual once-over around his beer bottle. He was undeniably attractive— two parts swagger, one part belt buckle. He wasn’t someone Alex had seen in the month and a half he’d been coming to open mic night at the dive bar across town.

He’d _definitely_ have noticed.

“So, do you take requests?” the man asked. 

Alex laughed. “That song I just played? I’ve been working on that for the better part of a month. If I’ve only got the chance to play one song a week, I’m going to stick to originals.” 

The man smirked. “Not even Freebird?” 

“C’mon,” Alex said, draining the last of his beer and setting it back down on the bar. “You can do better than that one.” 

“Oh, can I?” The man touched the tip of his tongue to one incisor in a distractingly sexy way, and Alex almost lost his train of thought. With a shake of his head, he cleared his throat. 

“Tell you what,” Alex said, leaning across the bar to snag a spare cocktail napkin from the server station and noticing the way the man’s eyes drifted to how the movement exposed a strip of skin at his hip. He pulled a pen from his back pocket and uncapped it with his teeth, scrawling his phone number and first name on it before his post-performance adrenaline could fade away. “Text me your requests, and if you send me one I like, then _maybe_ that’s what I’ll play next week,” he said around the pen cap. 

Instead of handing the man the napkin, Alex reached over and tucked it into the chest pocket of his half-unbuttoned shirt, patting it once for good measure. He smirked. “Looking forward to finding out what your taste in music is like, uh…”

“Michael,” the man said after a moment. 

“Michael.” Alex tilted his head and smiled. “Maybe I’ll see you here next Friday.” With that, he turned and headed for the exit. 

Once outside, he sucked in a long breath and let it out slowly, laughing a little incredulously at himself. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d flirted with anyone, let alone in the bold way he just had with a total stranger.

He wondered if he’d ever hear from the guy. He figured the odds were about 50-50.

-

He woke up the next day to three texts, all from the same number, all containing the name of a song and an artist or band. 

“Let’s see what kind of music you like, Michael,” he murmured, reading the texts over breakfast. Old school country— he wasn’t surprised. Zeppelin— it figured. A Taylor Swift song, though, that was interesting. Maybe he couldn’t put this Michael guy in a box.

His phone pinged with another song suggestion late that night, then another the next day around lunchtime. The requests trickled in, some surprising, some not so much. A few made him break out his guitar and test out a few chords, wondering if he could do them justice. A few others just made him laugh. 

“Baby Shark?” he muttered over coffee one morning. “Really, Michael?” 

Late in the evening on Thursday, his phone buzzed on his bedside table, and he read the accompanying text. By now, he’d programmed the number into his phone— Michael’s first name only, since he didn’t yet know his last name, with a little music note emoji beside it. While Alex had only texted back sporadically, mostly with little flirty rejoinders like “keep trying, cowboy” or “do I look like a BTS fan?”, the texts had become something he’d looked forward to over the last several days. 

This one listed another song and artist, one he remembered from high school. He mulled over the melody in his head as he brushed his teeth, catalogued the lyrics as he climbed into bed. _Yeah. This might be the one._

-

The next day, Alex felt thankful that working from home allowed him to practice chords on and off throughout the day. It had been years; he had to remind himself how the song went. By the time he got to the bar that night, he felt 90% confident he wouldn’t stumble over the lyrics, at least. 

He was third on the sign-up sheet, and when he scanned the sparse crowd, he didn’t spot Michael yet. He frowned. He hadn’t gotten another text since the one with the song, he realized, and it wasn’t because he’d responded to tell him he was going to play it— in his haste to relearn the song, he hadn’t thought to respond at all. 

Maybe Michael wasn’t even planning to show up.

Still, Alex felt the same combination of excitement and nerves he felt anytime he got ready to play music in front of people. It was his favorite feeling in the world. He tried to hold onto that, and to push aside his disappointment when he didn’t see Michael walk in during the first performer’s song, nor the second. 

Finally, it was his turn. He perched on the stool and settled his guitar on his lap, reaching out to adjust the microphone in front of him.

When he looked back up at what could scarcely constitute a crowd, his eyes met warm golden ones. Michael smiled, looking a little frazzled and out of breath as he settled into an empty folding chair in the front row. 

His heart skittering in his chest, just a little, Alex strummed his guitar and began to sing. 

_This is the first day of my life_

_Swear I was born right in the doorway…_

It only lasted three minutes, but he barely looked away from Michael as he played. He couldn’t. And then it was over, and the next performer was taking his place on stage. Without breaking Michael’s gaze, he headed along the bar toward the spot where they’d first met. 

Michael met him in the middle with an awed smile.

“Thought you might not show,” Alex said. The bartender came over, and he passed his drink ticket to her. “When I didn’t get any more song requests from you, I thought maybe you’d given up.” 

“Nah,” Michael said, propping his elbow on the bar to face Alex fully. “Just felt like I’d picked a winner.” 

“Oh yeah?” 

“Yeah.” The bartender returned with Alex’s beer, and Michael gestured for one as well, looking a little sheepish underneath all that bravado. Alex kind of liked it. “I did have to really book it to make it over here in time after work. Glad you didn’t go up first.” 

Alex smiled, drifting closer along the bar without even fully realizing it. “Me too.” 

Michael took a swig of the beer the bartender brought him and set it back down, then took a step closer so they were face to face, standing in their own little bubble. “I do have one more request, though.”

“Yeah?” Alex raised his eyebrows. “What’s that?”

“Go out with me.” 

Biting his lip to hide his smile, Alex nodded toward the exit to the bar. “What’re you doing right now?” 

Michael laughed. “Now?” 

Alex shrugged. “Now’s as good a time as any to dissect your music taste.” He picked up his guitar case and turned, tossing Michael a glance over his shoulder. “You coming?” 

“Hold up,” Michael said, scrambling to toss a few dollars on the bar for his beer before following Alex toward the door. “What’s wrong with my music taste?” 

“Well, for one thing, that’s not even the best Taylor Swift song.” 

Michael’s laugh was warm and bright, and as they spilled out into the chilly night side by side, Alex realized he was feeling the same combination of excitement and nerves that he did whenever he got ready to play for a crowd.

It was his favorite feeling in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Want to hang out on tumblr? I'm [unbreakablejemmasimmons](https://unbreakablejemmasimmons.tumblr.com/) over there!


End file.
